Negima: Melancholic Days
by Liberalis Umbra
Summary: In the many worlds and dimensions, there are those who slide between them. Mahora academy was set to receive their new teacher when one of those travelers suddenly dropped in, bringing an unwilling passenger with them...
1. Chapter 1: Integration, pt 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Mahou Sensei Negima. I wish I could draw as good as Ken Akamatsu, but I can only draw stick figures. Nor do I own the Haruhi Suzumiya series. Those belong to Nagaru Tanigawa. The only things that are mine are any original characters. Resemblance of these characters to anyone or anything else, living or dead, is either a coincidence or meant as a respectful shout out.

**A/N: **This first chapter wouldn't be anywhere near as coherent if it weren't for the help of Muishiki, who ordered me to fix quite a bit of the opening. So, before anything is said, I must give thanks.  
This idea came to me late one night after an utterly bizarre series of train-of-thought derailments. So, as a loyal follower of the TV Tropes website, I decided to do something with elements from two incredibly troperiffic stories, Negima and Haruhi.  
I am a believer of the ideas of 'Sure, why not?' and 'Throw it in', so we may be seeing some of that shortly. In favor of some interactivity, I will be taking requests on some of the minor details. More on that later, when we get to it. On with the story!

_Another door opens in a limitless multiverse..._

* * *

**Prologue**

Things were not going very well, it seemed. The silent observer sighed. He could see his two targets ahead in the hallway. He could hear them, too.

_I come to school late one day, and they get into an argument, _he thought.

"If you're going to make another movie, fine. Just count me out of it this time." Kyon sighed and leaned back against the wall.

"You're a necessary part of the team! Who else is going to do all the errands?" Haruhi's hands were on her hips.

The observer wondered if he should jump in and stop this before it got worse. _Mamoru, you idiot. _He shook his head. _They don't know me yet. I was going to introduce myself later._

Kyon sighed again. "That's the point. Why don't you ask Koizumi to help you? I'm sure he'd be willing to drop whatever he's doing at a moment's notice."

That might have been an understatement. Itsuki Koizumi was the type to agree to anything she suggested with a smile on his face, after all.

Kyon was continuing on wearily. "Better yet, if no one else will show up today anyway, why don't you take the opportunity to spend some alone time with a guy? Go find someone nice, it won't be that hard-" Kyon's face was unreadable as always, which meant he was saying far less than he was thinking. Again.

_Damn. Could you be any more oblivious? _Mamoru winced. Kyon was just being ridiculous now! He couldn't seriously not notice how statements like that affected her, could he? He was probably the only one who could keep her sane, so he just _had_ to go out of his way to tick her off...

Just as he'd thought, that was enough for Haruhi. She stormed off furiously, nearly running Mamoru over in the process.

This wasn't the first time something like this had happened, nor would this be the last. But something was different. He'd been feeling off ever since she shoved him out of the way. No, since this morning. It was just worse now. And enemy activity had been up, unusually high for this _instance_.

_Times like this, I really wish I could take a sick day._ Under the weather or not, he knew what had to be done: protect the primary target first. Attempt to defuse the situation later. Reality warping could be eminent.

_1-1-2-3-5-8-13_

The bus rattled as it hit a pothole in the road. The sole male passenger, Negi Springfield, glanced around uneasily. Some of those girls were looking at him strangely...

"Do you see the little boy? He's so cute!" a teenage girl practically squealed. She nudged her friend and pointed.

"What's he doing here? The only stops left are Mahora and the high schools," The other girl replied.

"Well, Mahora did just open last minute applications for boys, but he looks like an elementary schooler. Hey, little boy, are you lost? The elementary schools are that way."

The small redhead just shook his head nervously. Just thinking about his new job terrified him. What if he blew his cover? Exposing magic was a horrible crime...

Suddenly a massive gust of wind blew through the bus. The embarrassed shrieks of girls shook the bus as they tried to keep their skirts under control.

"Next stop: Mahora High!" the bus driver shouted out.

"That's my stop," Negi declared.

"See ya, little boy," some of the girls called out as he walked off, taking his first steps into the place that would be his home for the next few months. He pulled out his assignment sheet the headmaster had given him when he'd graduated mage school.

_Negi Springfield: A Teacher in Japan_, his assignment said. But he hadn't expected it to be so crowded here. And why Japan, of all places? It was so far away from the U.K.

**This is zero tardy awareness week. The bell for first period will ring in ten minutes, so pick up the pace. **The voice crackled in from a loudspeaker. Hearing this, a crowd of people started sprinting toward the school building.

The street was packed with girls everywhere, running, jogging, skating. A boy with spiky black hair tore past him, practically dragging along his brown-haired friend.

"Come on!" he shouted. "We can figure everything out later. We're going to be late on our first day!"

To his right, another batch of girls passed by, followed by a girl with long black hair on rollerblades and a girl with orange hair tied off with little bells into two tails.

"...and the fortune book says if you say his name ten times, then bark like a dog, your love will come true."

The orange haired girl immediately began chanting "Takahata-sensei!"

_Fortune telling? Maybe I could help. Anya taught me a few things before I left._ It would be his first helpful act as a teacher. Negi activated his physical ability boosting charm and quickly caught up to the two.

_Here goes nothing, _he thought.

_1-1-2-3-5-8-13_

Well, that had been a disaster. Not only had the girl, Asuna, not taken his attempt at fortune-telling very well, but after she'd started angrily shaking him, he'd lost control of his magic and stripped her to her underwear right in front of his friend and contact, Takamichi. British gentlemen should never get themselves into situations like that! That was just inappropriate for a teacher.

_Can I really handle a class of students four or five years older than me? _Negi was starting to feel nervous as he approached the door, his class roster clutched in his arm.

The boy mage was so distracted by the massive class that he noticed half a second too late the falling eraser trap. He disabled his shields as quickly as he could. Nobody would notice how the eraser had hovered for that split-second, would they?

Negi took a step forward and fell for a _second_ trap, a tripwire that dropped a bucket on him. He did an astonishing series of flips forward before crashing into his desk.

The laughter stopped. The class was silent for a moment.

"Oh crap, it's a kid!" a voice shouted. The girls seated in the front rushed forward to remove the bucket.

"So sorry. We thought it was the new teacher," one apologized.

The guidance counselor, Ms. Shizuna, stepped in. "No, this child _is_ your new teacher. Allow him to introduce himself."

"I'm...my name is Negi Springfield, and starting today, I'll be teaching you English."

The class stared at him. Then, almost as one, half the class declared "He's so cute!" and mobbed him. The lucky few who got closest seemed to be competing over how hard they could squeeze him, all while demanding to know his age, how smart he was, and whether he'd really be staying as a teacher. Ms. Shizuna just watched with a slight smile on her face.

Negi felt welcome at least, if not completely safe.

After finally escaping from his student's clutches, there was a brief bit of trouble with Asuna demanding to know what he'd done with the eraser. That girl was already noticing too much. If he didn't do something, and his cover was blown...

Thankfully, the class rep, Ayaka Yukihiro, had stepped in. Of course, that had led to a brawl in the middle of the classroom, but Ms. Shizuna had broken that up.

Finally, there was calm. Negi took the opportunity to open the class roster. There were so many of them! Thirty four students...Narutaki, Izumi, Tatsumiya, Saotome, Ayase, Hasegawa, Miyazaki, Kuro-

_Wait a minute! What's this?_

The last two students were left nameless. The pictures were of two boys wearing a school uniform that was definitely not Mahora's. Takamichi had scribbled by their pictures: _last minute transfer students._

"Excuse me. Could the two new students in the back please introduce themselves?"

Number 33 stood up. He cleared his throat and got as far as "My name is-" before the boy next to him stated "Everyone back home called him Kyon."

The boy called Kyon grimaced and shot a glare at the other boy. "...that's right," he relented.

Negi filled in the name next to the picture. "And your name is?" he asked number 34.

The boy remained seated. He ran a hand through his spiky black hair and yawned before answering. "Mamoru. Utsuro Mamoru."

* * *

**Arc 1: Convergence**

**Chapter 1: Integration, pt. 1**

Mamoru looked around. He was in an unfamiliar schoolyard, wearing an unfamiliar uniform._ What? I was just in the hallway..._

One moment he'd been walking toward Kyon, the next moment, he'd felt a strange tug and found himself here. _I've Slid into another instance?_

And he'd just joined the last one! He hadn't traveled dimensions unprovoked like that for years. So much for the power being under control.

A groan came from by his feet. A brown-haired boy was unconscious on the ground.

_Oh crap. I've screwed up big time! This is entirely my fault-what do I do-Kyon-kun..._

He fought off the urge to yell loudly. He took a breath. Now, time to think things through. If sci-fi novels had taught him anything, it was that bringing things to other times was very bad, and could destabilize the local time plane. Certainly the same applied here, to dimensions. _Dammit, bring him back, bringhimbackbringhimback!_

Now that was a reasonable thought. No need to panic just because he'd done something stupid like drag the person he was supposed to protect to another dimension. He grabbed Kyon's hand and prepared to slide. He felt the sensation of slipping through the world's barriers, but he was dragged back as though weighed down. He felt like he'd just run a marathon.

Mamoru couldn't bring him back. He had thought it impossible to bring anything with him, after all. He dropped the hand and stepped through by himself.

The slider was thrown back instantly. He fell to him knees, gasping for breath. He just didn't have enough energy to slide. They were stuck here. And he could feel that this world was different than theirs.

He didn't have any knowledge about this world at all! How different was it? Japan could've been conquered by Britain or something for all he knew.

Kyon was starting to move. Mamoru swore under his breath. Now what? Kyon was waking up!

He shoved his doubt down and put on a smile.

"Greetings, Kyon-kun. It's so great to meet you at last!" Mamoru said, grinning.

Kyon was not grinning. He opened his eyes slowly and stared blankly at his surroundings. "This isn't North High." He looked over at Mamoru. "Who are you?"

"I'm Mamoru. Actually...I'm the slider Haruhi was waiting for. So, I haven't met this version of you personally, but trust me. I'm a friend, and I think I can explain."

Kyon's expression suggested that he was thinking things over, and that he didn't trust him quite yet. Introducing himself to versions of people who didn't know him was never easy. If this situation hadn't been forced on him, Mamoru might have had time to prepare, but you couldn't prepare for Haruhi. Around her, the best-laid plans fell to pieces regularly.

He ran his hand through his hair in an unconscious stressful reflex. At least his hair was spiky again. This world seemed to be one of the ones where people's every single loose strand of hair came to a spiked point. Mamoru loved those worlds the best. It made him feel like a video game hero or something.

"No, really. I've been there on all the crazy things that have happened. Just in other dimensions. I've done just as much to keep Haruhi from going Armageddon on us as anyone else." Mamoru had a sudden flash of brilliance. "Will you believe me if I say that I know that you're John Smith?"

Kyon once again took a look at the unfamiliar surroundings. "Haruhi destroyed the world, didn't she?"

"I don't think so. I believe we're in another dimension. I know Sliding, and what happened felt just like it. I'll have to explain Sliding for you to understand."

"Explain things to me, then." Kyon leaned back against a nearby pillar. "Better get comfortable. This is going to be another giant infodump session, isn't it?"

"I'll try to make this simple. Skipping over all the boring details," _and the painful ones_, he added silently. "I discovered this ability some years back and wound up joining the SOS Brigade as your Kohai. I swore to help and protect Kyon-kun, so I've been Sliding ever since. For me, jumping through different _instances_ of the same world is simple instinct. Just a matter of extending my senses and following the pull of an alternate world."

Kyon nodded and said nothing. Audibly anyway.

"I'm sorry to say that this is entirely my fault. Back in your home reality, something went wrong, and I found myself uncontrollably Sliding with you along for the ride. This has never happened before. I've never taken anything more with me than the clothes on my back. Also, the feel of this _instance_ is fundamentally different than the others. All I can think is that we've been sent to another world very little like our own. I'll know more when I synchronize."

"Synchronize? You're starting to sound like Nagato. You want to find a computer?" He gestured at the school in the distance. "Or maybe a book?"

Mamoru laughed. Kyon seemed to be adapting, as he always did. The boy's dry comments were what Mamoru missed most in worlds where the SOS Brigade had different personalities.

"Now comes the most complicated part of Sliding. Fitting in to the new _instance_. It would be really bad to not know what's different in the new _instance_, or what my story is. I mean, I could get arrested for some stupid little thing. So, the synchronization fills in the blanks. I get some pieces of memories, personal traits, backstory, whatever, dumped right into my subconscious. Just enough to get by. I can only hope it still works in a world where there's more than a few small differences. And speak of the devil, here it comes. Catch me, Kyon-kun!" With that, he simply fell over on Kyon. Mamoru's eyes rolled back into his head. He just laid there, not moving a muscle for nearly half a minute. A crowd of girls walking by gave him weird looks.

"Is he going to be alright?" a tall girl with a concerned expression asked.

Mamoru jumped to his feet like nothing had happened. "I'm fine."

"Come on, Chizu-nee! We're going to be late." The girl's friend waved at her. She smiled and ran back to the other girls.

Mamoru swayed. A thin line of blood trailed from his nose. _That's it? Where's the important info? Where are we? What's unique about this world? All I get is a vague date and that we have to go to school! I could've figured that one out from the uniforms, thank you. Give me some answers, gorram subconscious!_

His subconscious, of course, didn't answer.

"I've got almost nothing. I have no clue how this world works. But I promise I'll get you home."

He took a steadying breath.

"Here's what I've got about our situation. This school, whatever it is-"

"Mahora," Kyon offered helpfully, gesturing at the sign behind him.

"-Mahora is a girls school, but has for some reason has opened its gates to boys this year. Conveniently, if you notice, we already have the uniforms. We're supposed to go to class 2-A at the middle school. And I think we'd better play along with where we've wound up until I can get the time to figure out how we're getting back."

"Oh well," Kyon said wearily. "Playing along is something I'm good at. Sometimes, I wonder where I went wrong with my life..."

Mamoru shivered at the sudden breeze. "Also, I think it's February in...2003."

Kyon seemed to pick up on something. "Wait, we're second years? But we're in high school."

Mamoru wiped the blood away and stood more firmly. _That was a lot worse than usual._

"That's the thing I should've mentioned earlier. Not all dimensions lie on the same time plane. It's not 2003 back home, you know. Part of the process involves aging up or down accordingly. Not sure exactly why that one works, maybe there's some entity helping us when we portal in or something. Anyways, I feel about fifteen, and we're about to enter year three, so we've become roughly the right age, see. My memories imply it won't be a problem if we're a little too old."

**This is zero tardy awareness week. The bell for first period will ring in ten minutes, so pick up the pace. **The loudspeaker blared overhead.

Mamoru dragged Kyon to his feet. "Time for class. We've gotta hurry." He grabbed Kyon's tie and took off running. The other boy loudly protested as he tried to follow.

Mamoru barely noticed the small boy they passed. He seemed even more out-of-place then they did. The long staff hanging from the boy's pack sparked something in his subconscious. No time to think on that. "Come on! We can figure everything out later. We're going to be late on our first day!"

_1-1-2-3-5-8-13_

Class, he found out, wouldn't be starting for a while. A new teacher was coming, and had to meet at the office first.

"Excellent," Kyon said drily. "I love running for no reason."

"Sorry, Sempai," Mamoru said. He smacked himself on the head. "Wow, this is weird being in the same year as you! I'm almost always a year lower..."

They walked down the long hallway. 2-A was way down by the end. A few students were still entering their classrooms.

_My memories shouldn't be this fragmented. I can't seem to really _remember_ anything. Is it just the world is too different, or..._ A short girl with long blonde hair was standing around in the hallway. One look and Mamoru knew that he knew her.

"I'll be just a second," he found himself saying. He took a step toward the girl, and she looked up. Her expression turned stony so fast that Mamoru couldn't recognize the one it covered.

"Go away," she said. Mamoru took a step closer, still not knowing exactly what he was doing. "I don't want to talk to you."

The girl turned away and began walking. Mamoru simply sped up his pace and slid around her fluidly. He bent down to her level. His face was right in front of hers, now.

"So you do remember me?" Mamoru asked.

"We don't know each other any more. Leave me alone, Mamoru," she said rudely. She tried slipping past him, but the way Mamoru was blocking the hallway wouldn't allow that very easily. One step forward led to her lips brushing his cheek.

Mamoru grinned roguishly. "My, you're forward, Eva-chan."

The girl scowled briefly, before leaning in and letting her lips brush lightly across his. "No, _this_ is forward." The girl stepped back, leaving Mamoru blushing. "What? It was just a joke. I'll be taking payment for that when the full moon comes out tomorrow. I don't have any fangs until then." She pulled her lip back, revealing perfectly ordinary teeth.

She slid around the stunned Mamoru successfully this time. "And don't call me Eva-chan. It's Evangeline. No one refers to me in such a familiar manner. Goodbye, Utsuro Mamoru."

Evangeline entered the classroom. Mamoru stood there wordlessly.

_I guess I must know her somehow._ But how? Mamoru's ties to the _instances_ he went to were always minimal at most. Never before had anyone in a new _instance_ recognized him.

"What the hell just happened?" Kyon asked, walking up to the slider.

"I don't know," was all Mamoru could think to say.

_1-1-2-3-5-8-13_

"You know what? I think we lucked out. It's February 15th. Imagine being surrounded by all these girls on Valentine's Day. Though that leaves me wondering what we're going to do on White Day..."

Things had been...interesting enough entering the class to find that they were the only two guys out of over thirty people. Supposedly there were more boys somewhere in the school, but the 2-A girls had crowded them like the oddities they were.

Mamoru had been right about not looking too old. His new classmates ranged from 'looked like an eleven year old' to 'no way in hell they're not high-schoolers'.

The door creaked open, the teacher walked in, and the eraser fell. Mamoru had missed the prankster setting it up. Shame. He wanted to congratulate her on the excellent job.

Then the second trap was triggered. He really wished he knew who'd done it now. Very impressive.

His idle thoughts were distracted by the strange way the eraser had fallen. _Magic_, his subconscious whispered. That was new. Aliens, time travelers, and espers were things he'd dealt with, but actual magic didn't exist back in the original worlds. Haruhi would really get a kick out of it, though.

"Excuse me. Could the two new students in the back please introduce themselves?"

_The teacher is the boy I saw earlier?_

Kyon stood up to introduce himself, but Mamoru beat him to it. No one here knew his nickname after all. Best to get that out as soon as possible.

Kyon glared at him. Mamoru was glad for once he couldn't hear his Sempai's thoughts. He'd probably thought he could escape his nickname for once...

"And your name is?"

Mamoru didn't bother to get out of his seat. All this slider business was tiring. "Mamoru. Utsuro Mamoru.

* * *

**A/N** So, this brings us to the end of the first half of the beginning. Chronologically, we've only reached about the halfway mark of the long first chapter of the Negima manga. Pt. 2 should bring things to a close.  
Not much to say, yet. Slow beginnings are slow. And it turns out this thing really eats up your formatting, so I had to get a little creative with the page breaks.

**Next time:** Snarky comments! Exposition! And a party.

_...be sure to close the door when you leave._


	2. Chapter 2: Integration, pt 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Mahou Sensei Negima. I wish I could draw as good as Ken Akamatsu, but I can only draw stick figures. Nor do I own the Haruhi Suzumiya series. Those belong to Nagaru Tanigawa. The only things that are mine are any original characters. Resemblance of these characters to anyone or anything else, living or dead, is either a coincidence or meant as a respectful shout out.

_Another door opens in a limitless multiverse..._

* * *

**Chapter 2: Integration, Part 2**

Afternoon break came not a moment too soon. Honestly, people shouted and disrupted class more here than Haruhi did. You'd think being forced into another world would involve things being different, somehow. And they are. But is it too much to ask for a little normalcy every now and then? Am I going to be denied even that last comfort while I'm trapped here?

I remember that a man once said that if something bad _could_ happen, then it _would_. I wonder if he's laughing at me right now.

I can't even escape that nickname here either. Thanks to that slider, they'll all be calling me Kyon before the end of the week. Sooner, since no one here knows my actual name. They actually have no choice this time. Oh joy.

"Kyon-kun, I'm going to go check out the school. I'll be back soon." With that, Mamoru, self-professed slider, was gone. It was strange, being referred to in a familiar manner by someone I'd just met. I tried telling him to call me something else, but all that led to was him calling me Sempai. Understandably, we'd get weird looks if that continued, so Kyon-kun it was.

He'd promised to try to explain everything he could. What I didn't realize was that he meant to pass me notes all class long. Notes so full of technobabble, diagrams, and slider terms I was unfamiliar with that I'd need Nagato to decipher them to make any sense at all.

Suffice to say, all I understood was that sliding was complicated business, and required certain instincts to work. The current theory for why we were here was that an unexplained energy surge had caused a malfunction in his abilities. The kind that could only come from Haruhi or another sufficiently powered source. No clarification on said sources. Clear as mud, as they say.

He kept saying, 'trust me, I'll handle this', but I can't help but be a little weirded out. This guy's practically dodgier than Koizumi. It's a hard feat to manage pulling off a facade better than the Esper boy, but Mamoru's not telling me everything. That's easy enough to see.

Oh, well. I'll just go with it. At least I've escaped the supernatural for a while.

And a walk didn't sound too bad, actually. I might as well get familiar with the surroundings. We may be here a while, after all.

_1-1-2-3-5-8-13_

Mamoru was having a great deal of success, if he said so himself. A few of the girls were more than happy to help out the new guy.

Already he was learning where things were and the names of most of his classmates. There were so many, though! But a few had nicknames. Nicknames, Mamoru had found, made things a lot easier. The class rep Ayaka Yukihiro was usually called "Iincho", Nodoka Miyazaki was "Honya", Haruna Saotome was "Paru", Takahata-sensei was "Death Glasses"...

"Thank you...Sasaki Makie-san, was it?" The girl nodded. _Well that should be easy enough name to remember. There's a Sasaki back home, too._

Mamoru gave a slight bow and continued on his way.

He noted that there was a forest nearby. A branch rustled loudly. A shout came from within.

"I saw what you did! Explain yourself! You're an Esper or something, aren't you? You've got supernatural powers?"

The voice was getting quieter as the speaker went further into the trees, but Mamoru recognized the voice of the girl who'd shouted so much this morning, Asuna Kagurazaka.

Things like this made Mamoru feel nostalgic of a few home _instances_.

He silently wished luck to whoever was being shouted at. It was obvious already that she was not someone whose bad side you wanted to be on.

Time to head back to class, he decided. It was getting late already. Mahora's campus was pretty huge. He'd spent quite a while exploring.

He followed the lead of a black haired girl with a Hime-style hairdo. Why was she familiar, again? He'd seen her before with Asuna and...the principal's granddaughter, that's who she was! Konoka Konoe.

The back of Mamoru's neck itched unpleasantly. He could feel eyes watching him. A shadow slipped from one piece of cover to the next. He almost missed it, but Mamoru's Sliding-enhanced senses were unusually sharp. _Very strange._

"Um, who are you behind that pole?" In a flash, he found himself pinned facedown to the floor with a sword hilt in his face.

_Holy crap, that was fast!_ Mamoru had thought he had fast reflexes, but he hadn't even had time to react. The sword made a scraping sound as half an inch was pulled free of the sheathe. Mamoru caught the meaning of the threat. _Okay, don't panic. Calm. Imagine this is a threat to Kyon-kun._

He swallowed. "Why were you following that girl?" There, that was calm and reasonable, right? "I'm in no position to stop you, but you weren't going to hurt her, were you?"

The hilt was pulled slightly away. A sound of disbelief came from its wielder. "I could never hurt Ojou-Sama."

"Ojou-Sa-?" The sword-wielder held the girl in such high regard? Maybe he'd jumped to the wrong conclusion. "So this is all a misunderstanding, right? Could you let me up?" The pressure holding him was released, but the sheathed sword was still held threateningly in his face. He recognized this kind of overprotective behavior. He'd been guilty of it too many times, himself. "I just got suspicious with you sneaking behind her like that. Jumped to a conclusion, had to rush to the rescue, you know? You understand, right? Bodyguard to bodyguard?"

The blade was removed. Mamoru stood up, shaking the dust out of his uniform. The sword-wielding girl was sizing him up. She had her black hair tied off to one side, giving the strange impression of a single bird wing. Her massive blade was almost as big as she was. It was a wonder she could even carry it. His diagnosis was that things would go much better with her as ally than enemy.

"I'll tell you my story if you give me yours. I'm Mamoru, and I've sworn to protect Kyon with my life. You?" He held out a hand.

Slowly, the sword-wielder took it. "Setsuna."

_1-1-2-3-5-8-13_

"So you protect her from the shadows? Is that smart?" Mamoru asked.

"It's what's best for someone like me. To quietly guard her, so she never knows the dangers." The answer came from behind him.

He'd declared the two of them to be comrades-in-arms after learning that Setsuna Sakurazaki was a Shinmeiryuu swordmaster-in-training and childhood protector of Konoka. She'd tentatively agreed to let him help secretly escort the girl back to class. She was still staring at him with a hint of suspicion as she followed half a step behind.

"I understand the feeling. For years I never revealed myself to Kyon-kun, but eventually I left the shadows and became his close friend. It's worth a try, you know?"

Setsuna scoffed at the idea. The school came into view.

"Well, I've got to go find the one _I _protect. If you ever want to come out of the shadows, or could use a hand with the whole guardian thing, keep in touch. Maybe we could swap old war stories sometime." He ran off, waving goodbye.

The sword-wielder said nothing.

Mamoru caught Kyon in the hallway, creeping along slowly because of the two girls hanging on to his arms. Both were tiny; the same girls he'd compared to 11 year olds earlier, in fact.

"Do I even dare ask what chain of events led to this situation, Kyon-kun?" Mamoru laughed. "It seems you've been even more productive than me, hmm?"

Kyon looked mildly annoyed. "Allow me to introduce the Narutaki twins. He's Mamoru." He looked as if his hand would be making an exasperated beeline straight for his forehead if it weren't for both his arms being restrained.

"I'm Fuuka!" The one with the twin tails said brightly, waving a hand in the air.

"And I'm Fumika!" Her sister followed immediately, copying the gesture.

With that, the two ran off, bent low to the ground with arms outstretched like the ninja in manga.

Mamoru couldn't stop laughing after that. "So, h-how long have you b-been into Lolicon?" he choked out.

To Mamoru's delight, he'd gotten Kyon flustered at last. "That was not my fault. I do not think of little girls like that. Besides," he said, recovering quickly and sporting half a grin now, "aren't you the suspicious one? I was watching when you and that girl Evangeline kissed...who's into lolis now?"

And just like that, the tables were turned. _Oh, crap. I didn't want to think about that! _Mamoru's face was probably burning up. "What happened between me and Eva-ch-" He shook his head. "Between Evangeline and myself was completely different!"

Kyon managed to speak volumes with just a single raised eyebrow.

Yes, his face was definitely burning. Heat was radiating away. He could feel it.

"It's not like that, really! I-she might be an old friend. Maybe. That didn't mean anything, it-" The panicked rambles abruptly stopped. He'd been defeated soundly. Kyon was still the master.

The master was obviously trying and not succeeding very well at not laughing.

_1-1-2-3-5-8-13_

The moment the two reached the door, they were yanked in by the class rep. "Get over here and help!" she ordered. It turned out the rest of the class had been preparing a party to welcome the new teacher for a few days now. Now that they knew the teacher was a ten year old boy, the party preparations had suddenly grown at the last moment.

"How do I always get dragged into chores like this?" Kyon groaned, facepalming at last. He began hanging banners without further complaint, though.

"Hand these out." A bag of party poppers was forced on Mamoru. He shrugged and began moving through the class, giving one to each girl. He gave a slight smile to Setsuna as he passed. Evangeline ignored his presence, while the odd-looking green haired girl next to her gave him a strange look.

"Master?" she asked.

"Later," Evangeline hissed. The small girl shot a glare at Mamoru. "Go away." She snatched the outstretched popper and turned away.

"Master isn't usually like this," the green haired girl apologized. Mamoru's senses tingled. Something was vaguely familiar about her. Not her, but he recalled seeing Evangeline with someone similar once. And her voice was a little off? Something to think about later.

"I have to get something first. You go over there..." Asuna barreled into the room, dragging Negi-sensei behind her.

"Welcome, Negi-sensei!" shouted the entire class. The poppers shot streamers everywhere. The child teacher had a confused expression on his face.

"Ah! That's right! Today is your welcoming party. I forgot." Asuna held up a bag. "I brought the food."

The food and teacher were yanked away in the blink of an eye. "The guest of honor sits in the middle," the group of girls said.

With that, the celebrations were underway. The room seemed impossibly crowded, especially when Takahata-sensei and Ms. Shizuna arrived. Mamoru looked around for Kyon. With a grin, he noticed him in a corner, talking with what seemed to be the cheerleading club. Popular as ever. He really didn't know how Kyon did it.

Presents were gifted to the boy teacher, the most ridiculous of which was a Negi Springfield statue from the class rep. Unsurprisingly, this led to another fight between her and Asuna. Mamoru was beginning to get the idea that brawls in the middle of the classroom were a normal thing for the two.

There were some meat buns over in the corner that were calling to him. This was a party, so he might as well mingle.

There were a lot of worse places to have accidentally trapped your friend in than a class full of pretty girls, after all.

_1-1-2-3-5-8-13_

Things finally came to a close. Everyone was having so much fun that no one noticed at first that the guest of honor had vanished. When they did, the closest girls to the door threw it open. Nothing.

Sound was coming faintly from the door leading to the stairs, so they threw it open too. The sight that greeted them was Asuna leaning in close to the child teacher's face. The boy was blushing.

The orange-haired girl jumped back, waving her hands in the air. "This isn't what it looks like!"

Ayaka's eye twitched. "What were you planning, bringing a little boy out here alone?" the class rep exploded.

"It's a misunderstanding, Iincho!"

_1-1-2-3-5-8-13_

This was almost too convenient. Could the day have gone any better? A party, a lively and interesting class, and now one last piece of luck. After what probably amounted to a hurricane of paperwork for the school office, all of the new arrivals and transfers had been taken care of. Mamoru and Kyon had been signed up for the very last open dorm room. The room that had been intended for the incoming teacher, it turned out. But, since the principal's granddaughter had no problem with him rooming with her, things had worked out fine.

Mamoru sat down on one of the beds. It still wasn't that late out yet, maybe six or seven, but he was exhausted.

Kyon looked around the room. If he had any opinions either way, he didn't voice them. The boy kicked his shoes off and relaxed.

It had been an eventful first day. It looked like this world would be a nice place to stay until Mamoru figured out how to transport a human across the dimensions. He'd even made a friend, possibly.

"Tomorrow. I'll figure out what's going on then." Mamoru leaned back a little. Sleep claimed him instantly.

_1.61803398875...  
_

"Finally get to relax," a thin white haired boy said. He slumped comfortably on a black couch. The couch was the only splash of color in the pure white room.

He closed his eyes. Calm moments like these, after being sent out on so many missions, were a rarity. Something always had to distract him. A soft mechanical whirr alerted him to the door opening. He ignored it.

"Where is everyone else?"

"Go away," the white-haired boy said. Times like this, where he could never get any peace, made him really hate his lot in life. But these people, his _allies_, were better than the alternative. They gave him purpose.

"Shiro, this is important. I can't find anyone. Where are the others?" The voice was utterly calm. If it was so important, shouldn't he act like he cared?

The boy called Shiro opened his eyes and yawned. Of course, it was _him_. That blue-haired know-it-all.

"Why should I know where anyone goes to? I thought that was your job." Shiro met the other's stare. He shrugged. "Our leader is still napping. As for the others, let me count..." He held his hand outward.

"A few of our people are out on some sort of mission, probably. I remember something like that." He lowered two of his fingers. "I have no clue what that lunatic Nate gets up to, that annoying moron is nowhere near me like I like it, and the destructive one is, well, you know what he's up to." He lowered three more. Yep, that was everyone.

"Destroying, obviously," the blue-haired boy replied almost amusedly. He took a few steps forward into the room. The boy's ponytail swished as he made a turn for the far corner. "I guess we're the only ones at the base right now. I'll have to report later. We may have a problem. Mamoru is gone."

Shiro scratched his head. "Why should I care? So he left earlier than we thought he would. Big deal. Besides, I hate that twerp."

The other boy chuckled. "Why do you treat him like a kid? He could be as old as you. Maybe older. The constant travels really add up years."

"Because he acts like one! Always messing with everything, whining." Shiro scowled. "Always, always with 'I screwed up again. It's entirely my fault!'" The boy's voice took on a mocking, whiny pitch.

"And yet the real reason you're still upset is because he was always her favorite, not you." The blue-haired boy reached behind himself and tapped lightly on the wall with his knuckle. A clear screen slid out, higher quality than the most expensive plasma TV available.

Shiro gritted his teeth. "Stop doing that. You think you can just analyze everyone, don't you? You know us all so well?" There was no reply. A holographic keyboard appeared in front of the screen. "Of course I'm ticked about that! What right did the brat have, coming in like that? Always sucking up to her, letting her baby him every time he had a problem. Stealing her affection with his stupid act. I saw him do things she wouldn't have approved of. I _saw._"

"While you were stuck being dear little Yuki. All Shiroyuki Ken wanted was to be taken seriously, hmm?" The other boy smirked.

Shiro shot a glare at the other boy. No one called him that. It was ignored as the boy turned and started typing away on the floating keyboard uncaringly.

"What was so wrong with me? Nothing. Without him around, I could've-" He punctuated this with a fist pounding into the couch. He got up and began pacing. "Tell me his new coordinates, so I can go kick his ass right now."

"As stupid an idea as that as, it brings me to the problem. Mamoru is gone. Gone from the readings completely. He didn't just slip into the next world over, he's somewhere completely different now. I can't find any trace of him anywhere. And that's bad, because," he pushed a button. The screen flashed to a series of flashing bars and graphs. "The readouts from the world he was in have gone haywire. Dangerously unstable."

Shiro stopped angrily pacing for a moment. "It's destabilizing? How? Dammit, I'm going to be sent in to clean up the mess again, aren't I? That world is so completely boring."

The other boy shook his head slowly. "Not yet. This world isn't like some. It's survived some pretty destabilizing events before. We'll wait and see."

"Fine then. I'll be in the dojo, burning off steam. Don't bug me unless you want a rematch."

"Maybe if I do that...but then I risk...but it could work. I have time to wait..." The blue-haired boy mumbled to himself. He hit a few keys almost absentmindedly.

Shiro shook his head and walked out the door. It slid shut with a mechanical click.

The blue haired boy remained behind, working away on the keyboard. The screen made a whirring noise, and he spoke softly to himself.

"Mamoru, you are such an idiot. What mess have you gotten yourself into this time?"

* * *

**A/N:** So that ends the introduction proper. I really liked the idea of having the robot Chachamaru talk in a different font to show her slightly mechanical voice...but with only Times New Roman to work with, I guess I can't. And there is a reason why the last number sequence/paragraph break is different. For symbolic reasons, that number has meaning to the organization at the end of the chapter. _What_ that is, exactly, might require some basic knowledge of some advanced high school courses. But I digress.

**Next time:** Dimensional portals! Secret rooftop meetings! And a heartfelt declaration of love?

_...be sure to close the door when you leave._


	3. Chapter 3: Pieces of the Puzzle

Disclaimer: I do not own Mahou Sensei Negima. I wish I could draw as good as Ken Akamatsu, but I can only draw stick figures. Nor do I own the Haruhi Suzumiya series. Those belong to Nagaru Tanigawa. The only things that are mine are any original characters. Resemblance of these characters to anyone or anything else, living or dead, is either a coincidence or meant as a respectful shout out.

_Another door opens in a limitless multiverse..._

* * *

**Chapter 3: Pieces of the Puzzle**

"Kyon-kun! We're going to be late! Jeez, is this what your sister has to deal with every morning? Wake the hell up!"

Kyon opened a single eye.

"I've been shaking you for the last five minutes! You've got to start getting up earlier." Mamoru shook his head. "We'll be late for sure if we don't hurry."

Kyon rubbed his eyes sleepily. He rolled out of bed. "Be just a second." He yawned and slipped into the bathroom.

_Finally. Do you have to be so robotic in the morning?_ Mamoru smacked his forehead. Robot! The girl with Eva-chan earlier was a robot. Why hadn't he noticed earlier? A memory floated out of his subconscious. Evangeline was walking down a dirt path with a puppet on her shoulder. Chachazero. That was the puppet's name. Mamoru shivered.

None of that was helping. Mamoru ran a hand through his hair. _Okay, plan. I need a plan to get Kyon-kun back home._

What he needed was to contact someone in the SOS Brigade back home. He may not be able to bring Kyon with him, but Mamoru could take a quick trip back home by himself. They might have some idea what to do. Truthfully, every single one of them was probably better suited to handle this than him. Koizumi could call his superiors in his organization with all their connections and power, Mikuru, while most likely to panic, had had time travel and access to people with knowledge and technology from the future, and Yuki...well, he still wasn't sure how far her data manipulation skills could defy the laws of physics. Certainly someone could help get Kyon back!

Of course, he'd have to convince them that he was speaking the truth, but the fact that Kyon was missing would probably help. Haruhi was probably freaking out while denying that it had anything to do with the missing brigade member. Everyone else would be in a great hurry to get him back.

Mamoru took a deep breath. Time to Slide. But he'd do it right this time, not in a blind panic like yesterday. He extended his senses out in a circle around him, growing slowly as he felt the vibrations of nearby realities. This world had a different feel to it. To find his way home, he'd have to Slide far further away than he'd ever done before. _The difference between stepping sideways and making a flying leap, figuratively speaking._

He felt a twinge. That was it! He took a sidestep, Sliding through the rift. Everything was black. Lights flashed in the distance. Portals lay before him, thousands, millions.

_So, this is eternity. _He couldn't recall the last time he'd been given the big lightshow. Of course, this was usually a much shorter trip.

Images flashed before his face, worlds strange and unfamiliar. Dinosaurs, inhuman people. Magic, futuristic societies, battlefields. Hundreds, thousands of worlds he'd never been to. A single static image replaced them. Mamoru, surrounded by destruction, his clothing dirty and ripped. A teenage boy with brown hair lay dead at his feet.

_No! Not this all over again!_ Mamoru tried to scream, but no sound would come out of his throat.

A slow, mocking clap came from beyond the image. A boy Mamoru's age walked through it. His hair was a deep blue and held in a long ponytail. His outfit was a dull gray, and the sort of loose, shortsleeved garment martial artists favored. He smirked.

"You don't belong," the boy said, cool and calm. Everything about his stance radiated a complete lack of worry or interest. He gestured at the image, which started playing like a movie. The image of Mamoru was in the process of flipping the dead boy over. He frantically tried over and over again to revive the boy. A piece of rubble fell from a ruined building, narrowly missing the slider as he gave up. Explosions blew more craters in the ground, growing closer as the image of Mamoru just sat there with a blank expression on his face.

_All of that, entirely my fault. Entirely my fault... _

Mamoru found himself unable to move, his attention forced on the memory he didn't want to relive. He couldn't even feel the vibrations of other realities, just a fuzzy buzz on the edge of his consciousness.

The blue-haired boy watched the scene with a small amount of interest. His eyes flicked back to the real Mamoru, and for a second he looked conflicted. He waved a hand and began turning transparent.

"We'll be waiting for you." The image froze as several pairs of feet entered the corner. The boy vanished completely, and everything turned black again. Mamoru screamed silently as he fell through the darkness.

_1-1-2-3-5-8-13_

He fell onto the floor of his new dorm room with a loud thud. He just sat there, gasping for breath, until Kyon came out of the bathoom.

"I can't Slide. There's interference coming in from somewhere," Mamoru said. "There was this other boy, I don't remember what happened, but he's another slider or something. I got thrown out."

_What did he mean by 'we'll be waiting for you'?_ He'd lied of course. He couldn't forget what he'd seen in the spaces between the worlds even if he tried. What in the world did the other boy want?

Kyon frowned. He waved a hand in the air as if he didn't care. "Oh well. Figure it out later. At least for now I get a break from the craziness back home. So far there haven't been any aliens, time travelers, or espers." He gestured at Mamoru. "One slider, but beggars can't be choosers."

Mamoru had major suspicions that this world wasn't as mundane as it looked, but why ruin Kyon's fun? He got off the floor. Time to run.

_1-1-2-3-5-8-13_

They weren't the only ones running. Negi-sensei happened to be running alongside Asuna and Konoka.

"Morning, Sensei!" Mamoru shouted. The teacher waved back as he entered the school.

They'd made it just in time, then. If the teacher was running late as well, there was no problem.

"Okay, new theory, Kyon-kun," Mamoru said as they opened the door. "Think of this like an oldschool RPG. The kind of quest where you find your party trapped in a new area for some reason. To get out, you need to learn a new skill or find an artifact that does that for you."

"And you're going to just stumble across lost technology that just happens to be just what we need, are you?"

"Of course not, Sem-" Mamoru stopped himself. "No. But the skill, maybe? If I work out my Sliding issues, I can break the interference and bring us home. Although there's something I can't quite remember about this world. Come on, what is it? I swear it's helpful..."

Mamoru trailed off uselessly. _Magic_, his subconscious whispered again.

The two walked toward the classroom without saying anything after that.

Evangeline was standing around in the hallway again. And she was smiling? No, not smiling, just pulling her lips back enough to reveal the fangs that had grown in.

"Meet me on the roof after class." She turned and left.

He still couldn't get more than a word or two out of her. This wasn't just rudeness, though he got the impression she wasn't the most polite classmate he had. She was angry at him for something. _We don't know each other anymore, _she'd said. His memories were coming slowly, piece by fragmented piece, but nothing helpful.

"All rise," the two heard as they slipped to the back of class. "Stand up straight! Bow!"

The class bowed as one. "Good morning, Sensei!" they said.

"G-good morning, everyone," the boy teacher replied. He pulled out his textbook. "Let's begin our first lesson."

Negi-sensei read out a passage in English, something about a flower named Jason and his flower friends. Mamoru laughed to himself. How ridiculous!

He was pleased to note that he could still understand English perfectly. His classmates, however, were making an effort to avoid the teacher's eye when he asked for a translation of what he'd just read. Kyon looked like he was falling asleep. As always, he never applied himself properly to his lessons, despite his brilliance.

"Well, then. Asuna-san."

The girl stopped spinning her pencil. She slammed her hands down on the desk. "Why me!" she shouted.

Negi-sensei looked nervous.

"Shouldn't you call by seat number or name?"

"Well, you're under 'A', Asuna-san," Negi said, a bead of sweat dripping down the side of his head.

"That's by first name!" she argued.

The class rep laughed. "Does that mean you don't know the answer, Asuna-san?"

"Huh?" Asuna turned slightly red. For a second, Mamoru expected another fight between the two, but Asuna picked up the textbook instead. "Okay, okay. I'll do it!"

She let out a deep breath.

"Jason...fell on the flowers," she read out slowly in Japanese. That wasn't even close! "Jason and the flowers...um...eat breakfast on the tree. There's hundreds...of bones?"

"Asuna-san, it seems like you're really bad at English," Negi-sensei said with a smile.

Snickers came from some of the students. "It's not just English, she's also bad at math," one offered.

"And literature..." added another.

"And science and social studies."

"In other words, she's a dummy," the class rep said knowledgeably.

The snickering was picking up about as fast as Asuna's face was turning bright red. Which was pretty fast.

She dashed forward and grabbed the child teacher by the front of his shirt. "You punk! I told you not to go against me this morning!"

There was the sound of an explosive sneeze, and a huge blast of wind blew through the classroom.

"What was that gust of wind right now?" was the question half the class was asking each other.

"Wait a minute! Why did you strip all of a sudden, Asuna-san?" the class rep shouted.

Somehow or other the poor girl had wound up in her underwear. Her expression was furious. "You're dead!" she yelled at the teacher. He ran away, his hands waving in a panic.

_1-1-2-3-5-8-13_

Mamoru was really starting to like this world. Things were eventful, if nothing else. It seemed class couldn't help but be interrupted by fight, parties, and the like.

He rubbed his cheek. He'd unfortunately just realized the one downside to being surrounded by so many girls.

After Asuna had tired of chasing the teacher in circle around the classroom, she'd realized that there were guys in the room. Shouts of "Don't look!" and painful smacks to his face had ensued. Kyon had averted his eyes quickly after the antics had started, and gotten away scot-free. Lucky bastard.

He was trying to find the stairway to the roof. The one classmate he'd tried to ask for directions had just given him a knowing smirk and gestured down this hallway. Her black hair-antennae jiggled as she ran off, giggling to herself.

It was only then that Mamoru realized that mentioning he had to meet a girl up there might have given the wrong impression. And that he'd just said that to the class gossip. _Aw, crap. Face, meet palm._

"Wait for me here, would you?" he asked Kyon after finding the door. "I'm going to try to get some answers out of Eva-chan."

"Be my guest." Kyon lounged against the wall.

Mamoru nodded, opened the door and walked up the stairway. He shielded his eyes as he came through the door to the roof. Jeez, the sun was bright!

"Master, he has arrived."

"Get over here, Utsuro Mamoru." Evangeline was sitting in the shade. She yawned.

"What's this about, Eva-chan?"

Evangeline glared. "Don't call me that. You lost that right when you left."

_When I left? _Once again, things he felt he should remember. Almost like he was returning to a childhood home he'd forgotten...

A sudden blur of motion came from the lounging girl.

Pain filled his gut, making him double over. Evangeline drew her fist back for another swing. "Go on, explain yourself. Tell me why you did it!"

Mamoru grabbed her fist, only to get a palm to his face. He lost his balance and collapsed backward.

Years of martial arts training, and he'd been effortlessly defeated twice in two days. How many girls were there in this class that could kick his ass, anyway?

"Look at me! I'm _not_ your enemy. Evangeline-san, this is crazy."

He stood up and was promptly knocked down again. He cried out in pain.

"Yes, that's it! I want to hear you scream." The girl smiled, but there was no pleasure in the expression. She was furious at him. He'd really set her off somehow.

"I'm sorry if I offended you, Evangeline-san, but I have no clue what happened." He sat up and tapped the side of his head. "No memories at all. Just your name and a feeling that I know you."

The girl looked slightly less furious. "Amnesia? That's the excuse you come up with?" She grabbed his wrist and pulled him up. A shock went through his whole body.

Mamoru grabbed his head. His vision went white.

_He saw Evangeline standing before the school gates, dressed in the school uniform, her expression dour._

"_I'll stay by your side, Eva-chan," his voice said. "You'll be out of this school before you know it. I promise."_

_The hint of a smile wormed its way onto the girl's face._

"Was that...a memory?" He rubbed his head. "I said I'd stay with you. You were entering school or something."

"master, what's wrong?" the robot girl asked.

Evangeline looked thoughtful. "He gives off the energy of a powerful memory-altering spell. He's telling the truth."

Mamoru breathed a sigh of relief. Evangeline rounded on him angrily. "That doesn't excuse you from leaving me here to rot for the last fifteen years! You'll find yourself wishing you'd never pissed off an evil mage!"

_And the beatdown I just got hasn't made me regret it enough yet?_

Guilty feelings seeped in. He knew deep inside that there was _something_ he was supposed to have done differently years ago. Everything she'd accused him of was true.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I can't remember anything, but I'm sure it's entirely my fault, whatever happened."

Evangeline actually laughed at that. "You haven't changed at all. You were always saying 'it's entirely my fault' whenever anything happened. Well, I don't entirely hate that part of you."

"So...will you help me with these memories. Please? I really need answers."

Evangeline's expression was unreadable. "Fine. But you'll have to pay me for the favor first. Extra, since that's why I called you here in the first place. You never get anything for free from an evil mage."

"I don't think I have any yen on me right n-" He was interrupted when she laughed and grinned evilly. He'd forgotten about the fangs for a second. "...you mean blood."

Her hands gripped his head and pulled him down to her level. She was powerful for such a small girl. He felt a small prick on his neck, and a strange, numb, but not unpleasant feeling spread out from the point she'd bit.

She pulled back, wiping her mouth, leaving him feeling a little faint from the blood loss.

"I'd forgotten how delicious your blood was. You know, it would've served you right if I'd drained you until you blacked out." She stretched her arms and sighed. "That wasn't near enough to restore the power that was sealed away in that _Infernus Scholasticus_ curse, though."

Mamoru itched his neck. He wondered if he had an incredibly visible mark now.

"Take a seat. You too, Chachamaru. I can tell you're curious about who he is, too. Now, as for who Mamoru Utsuro is..."

_1-1-2-3-5-8-13_

Mamoru walked down the stairs, deep in thought over what Evangeline had said. The girl had taken an almost sadistic pleasure in leaving him in the dark as much as she could, saying his answers would have to come later. So, all he'd really gotten was information about the hidden magical side of this world and the confirmation of his suspicion that they were old friends, but it was a start.

"Welcome back, you're just in time for another commotion," Kyon said wearily when Mamoru came through the door. "Is it too much to ask for a little peace every once in a while?"

Down the hall, the sound of shattering glass came as the child teacher was being manhandled by Asuna again.

"The idiot's gone and drunk a love potion," Evangeline sighed. She stepped out from the stairs with her robot partner close behind.

A handful of girls practically materialized out of nowhere. With blushes all around, they offered him homemade gifts and flowers.

Mamoru briefly wondered how they'd gotten ahold of the gifts so quickly.

The girls glomped onto the boy. He wrestled free and ran for his life.

"Somebody help meeeeeee!" he cried. The girls quickly followed, with a cursing Asuna shoving the others aside, shouting at Negi to wait for her.

Shouts of "I love you!" and "Stop moving, brat, or I can't help you!" came faintly down the hallway.

"Pathetic," Evangeline said.

"What, you're not going to chase after him too?" Mamoru asked.

"Please. As if such a weak spell could ever dull my senses. I'm not one of those weak-willed fools. You'll find all the stronger girls are unaffected as well. " She turned away. "I'm skipping class today. Chachamaru will keep in touch."

With that, the girls left. She seemed to have forgiven him at last. Or at the very least, no longer wanted to yell at or injure him.

"Negi-seeenseeeei~!" Another handful of girls was sprinting down the hallway. Right toward them.

"Brace for impact!" Mamoru shouted. He ran at the girls, yelling a battle cry. "I'll stop them!"

Kyon sighed to himself. "Have I died and gone to Hell?"

* * *

**Next time: **Gang activity! Backstory! And school clubs.

_...be sure to close the door when you leave._


End file.
